Genette's Story

November 2, 2011

Recorded by Dr. Alice Hirata

Genette Thelusmond is an amazing, gifted young woman who graduated last year from the Midwives For Haiti program and is now supervising the maternity care at St. Therese Hospital in Hinche.

	Dr. Alice Hirata and Genette Thelusmond providing patient care at Ste. Therese.

Genette was the eldest daughter of nine children. She grew up in Bohoc, a small village and needed to travel for all of her schooling. High school required leaving home and living in Hinche, the town where St. Therese Hospital and the teaching center for Midwives For Haiti are located. As a young girl, Genette went with her mom to women’s homes in their community. Genette’s mother was a matron, the community birth attendant without formal training. Genette vividly remembers many of those home births but admits she was influenced by her mom’s lack of knowledge and limited level of experience in coping with birth complications. Genette shudders when she recounts one particularly painful memory. Her mom was attending a birth which couldn’t safely proceed at home. The laboring woman was taken on a dirt road to the hospital where the situation only worsened. The woman was carrying conjoined twins (twins joined at their abdomens). Genette remembers that only one baby’s head could deliver vaginally and in order to get both babies delivered, it’s head needed to be amputated. Both twins died. This grizzly memory haunts Genette but also motivated her to seek training and improved resources.

The women in Genette’s home community realized her talents and passion for offering compassionate care. They raised funds and supplied her with a blood pressure cuff, stethoscope and baby scale. For a year, Genette worked as a matron but everyone accepted that she needed more advanced training.

With the prayers and well wishes of her community, Genette achieved her nursing auxillary training and she began working in a hospital. There she gravitated to the maternity ward. She’d watch midwives at work and when no one else was available, she would step in as a birth attendant. She came to work at St. Therese Hospital where the physicians rapidly recognized her as a superlative, competent nurse. Genette saw the training and encouraging instruction offered to the Midwives For Haiti students. She was delayed in pursuing her dreams of advanced midwifery training by the hospital doctors as they valued her nursing expertise. Thankfully, her calling and drive remained strong, and the following year the hospital doctors supported her decision. She entered the third class of MFH.

Now Genette feels competent in her role supervising staff and students at the hospital. She has the tools and experience to oversee the maternity wards. She admits that she wouldn’t want to work at St. Therese if it wasn’t for the guidance of MFH. With her warm smile, she expresses thanks for the recognition she’s received for her amazing dedication and hard work. So much more work needs to be done. She seeks to constantly improve services and care at the hospital and dreams of one day instructing future MFH students in class. Anyone who sees her at the hospital knows what an important role model and instructor she already is.

Genette is a shining light. She’s the example of what proper guidance, encouragement, tools and education can bring forth. Genette will carry on her mission. She’s prayerful that people far from Haiti will continue to support MFH programs.

 

Last updated November 2, 2011